Children have been born, weddings have been held, but there has not been such joy since

КА: Katya Alexander

БА: Boris Aliev

КА: Hello, Boris, hello.

БА: Yes, hello-hello.

КА: Hello-hello. I'm very glad that you found time to talk with me. Thank you very much for this.

БА: Don't mention it, don't mention it. It's thank you to you that you don't stay aside and do everything so that things are better here for our people, for our people. Thank you so much.

КА: How else.

БА: Look, I would like the beginning of our conversation to be such that I introduce myself.

КА: Of course, I'll then ask you clarifying questions as we go, don't worry.

БА: Yes. To tell initially that I've been living here since 1998, I have family here, children. I'm proud that I have two homelands, not one. That is, to start with this, and then move on, well, you already ask questions, how it happened, I'll start telling everything step by step.

КА: Good. Tell me about yourself, about how you ended up in Kherson, about your life there.

БА: My name is Aliev Boris Mahmud-ogly. I'm a citizen of Azerbaijan. I came to Ukraine in 1998 and have been living in the city of Kherson since then. Here I have, here I have family, three children – two sons and one daughter. I consider Ukraine my second homeland and I'm proud that I don't have one homeland, but two, that is Azerbaijan and Ukraine.

КА: Why did you leave for Ukraine in 1998?

БА: I worked in Moscow in the nineties, then somehow I came to visit, I really liked Ukraine itself, the nature, the cities. And the main thing that I liked – here is a very hospitable people. Kind, worthy, proud people. I decided to stay, I didn't start looking for where it would be better for me. I decided that it would be better for me to live in Ukraine, so I stayed. Since the occupation, since February, I didn't go anywhere, I lived in Kherson. I tried in every way to help pensioners – to deliver or bring some products, somewhere to help with money. In principle, we tried to somehow survive, because it was a very difficult time around these repressions. Breaking into apartments, disappearance of people, plus they shot every day, every night. That is, these kinds of things, it was all hard to endure, very hard. But, thank God, thank the Armed Forces of Ukraine, that they finally beat back our city. We are now very happy about everything happening, but they still have a lot of work, of course. A lot of our lands are still with the aggressor.

КА: And when you lived under occupation, were any repressive measures applied against you? Did this affect you or your family?

БА: Personally this didn't affect me, I tried in every way to avoid contact with them. But they took away my younger son, and for two days they beat him.

КА: Oh my God! Tell me about this.

БА: He has a childhood friend, he serves in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and my son is 18 years old. He foolishly took, posted photos together with him on social networks. And they started looking for him by the photo, asking questions. As a result, my relatives contacted me, who live here too, in Kherson. They informed me of this news, that they're looking for him. At that moment we still had the possibility to leave through Vasylivka. That is, I put him on the crossing here, so he could leave through Vasylivka to Kyiv, where my relatives there were supposed to meet him. When he had already crossed the river at the crossing, got on the bus, they came in, put a bag on his head, tied his hands and took him away. I didn't know about this, because there was Russian communication, they jammed it, sometimes it was there, sometimes not. And on the third day... Well, they, as he told, beat him very badly there. All kinds of questioning, "where is he, what is he, contact him." He says: "You understand, this is an old photo, not new." I wasn't even aware that they had taken him. And on the third day he came, his hands were blue. He kept it as a memory, I said: "Keep this bag for yourself," – he has it lying somewhere at home now, because he lives separately, by himself. It affected me, I was very worried, of course, about all this, for a long time I couldn't come to myself, because it was unknown how this would end, all this time I was scared that they might come for him again, take him away. They took people away, many disappeared, we can't find many, I'm even involved. We search everywhere, spread everywhere on social networks that we're looking, but so far no news. Such moments, they scared me very much. But, thank God, it worked out.

КА: And how did you find out that your son was in captivity? Did they just then return him home, or how did this happen?

БА: Yes, they saw my photo on his phone. He tells me: "Dad, the person spoke with an accent, I understood that it was a Caucasian." And he says: "I don't see them, I just hear voices, because the bag is constantly on my head." And, he says, when he asked who was in the photo, he answered that it was his father. He asked the question: "And who is he by nationality?" The son said that he's Azerbaijani. To which he again asked: "And who are you?" The son said that "if my father is Azerbaijani, of course, I'm also Azerbaijani." After which he said that "I'll take you where you say, closer, where you live. I'll drop you off, and you'll go." And he started telling him that "you're young," my son is an athlete, "you have your whole future, don't repeat such mistakes anymore," that "times are so hard, you see for yourself." He brought him, dropped him off in the park, said: "As soon as I leave, you'll take off the bag." He took off the bag, his phone was lying nearby, a bag with things, they didn't touch anything.

КА: Do I understand correctly that the photo for which they took him – is this some old photo on his social networks? Or did he already post it under occupation?

БА: I, honestly speaking, didn't ask. He, in my opinion, posted it earlier or he had it... They told me that they found him through social networks.

КА: It turns out that they monitored Kherson residents for the presence of photos with...

БА: Of course. We were elementarily afraid to communicate with our own, we communicated secretly, so that there would be nothing to latch onto in our conversation. Everything was listened to, everything was watched, filtered, they broke into garages, broke into apartments, took people away. Such repressive moments there were. They brazenly took people's cars, that is, here he's driving, they stopped him, took the car.

КА: How did you and your son after they beat him for two days? Do I understand correctly that they tried to make it so that he would contact his friend from the Armed Forces of Ukraine and extract some information?

БА: Yes, in this situation he was helped by a person who was Caucasian. That is, he by accent... He told me: "Dad, by accent I understood that it was a Caucasian," – but he didn't understand whether it was a Georgian, Azerbaijani or Dagestani. He didn't understand who exactly by nationality it could be. But the accent, he says, was Caucasian. Here, in Kherson, not only Azerbaijanis live – here we have Georgians living, and Dagestanis lived, and now Lezgins live, Avars. Kherson is a big city, so very many different peoples live here. There are very many Armenians here. So he "by accent, – he says, – I concluded that he was Caucasian," and he helped him leave. After that he sat sometimes at my place, sometimes at friends', sometimes somewhere at grandmother's. He constantly changed, changed addresses, so they wouldn't take him again.

КА: And they didn't take him again?

БА: No-no-no-no. I'm telling you, we hid him everywhere in every way, we changed his number so he could maintain contact purely with us, with me, with his mother.

КА: So the son returned from two-day captivity. First, when was this approximately, do you remember the month when they took him?

БА: This was exactly before they announced the referendum here.

КА: Aha, so this is September.

БА: Yes, exactly these were the first weeks when the referendum theme already started, that that's it, referendum, we'll start voting. So you understand, the voting went like this, that grandmothers walked with a box in their hands through the streets, through courtyards, walked with two machine gunners, they collected voting at such a pace. Of course, those who are for their homeland, for Ukraine, patriots, they... There was even a case when they approached us: "Let's vote." We said: "We have our own president, we're not going to vote for anyone."

КА: And weren't you scared to say this considering that you understood what kind of atmosphere?

БА: Very scary, you could expect anything from them, they could take us away, for example. Otherwise there was no way, if we hadn't done this, they would have forced us to vote. And so, when we told them clearly that this is uninteresting to us, we didn't invite you here, we lived peacefully, in prosperity, everything suited us – our government suited us, the country suited us, the people suited us, you came here to impose your orders, which we don't need. Then they already understood that it's pointless to prove, explain or try to force us to vote.

КА: And how did you decide to say such a rather radical position in conditions of occupation? How did you decide on this?

БА: I'll tell you this. At that moment I wasn't alone, we had a whole courtyard of young people, there were many children. From the second side, we already lived under repression, under constant fear, we expected some trouble every minute. Whether it's an impact, whether it's they came, threw a bag on your head, took you away. We already experienced all this. You understand, there was no point in being afraid anymore. Either they could take me, or neighbors, friends – any citizen living here, in Kherson, could be taken away for such things to be tortured, or simply come because they felt like it. We experienced all this, fear had already lost its... It took its toll and that's it, and was lost, we already got used to it, because 9 months is not a small period. We gradually, gradually got used to everything.

КА: And this conversation about the referendum, did it happen after your son was kidnapped?

БА: Once more? Ah, you mean about the referendum, yes?

КА: Yes-yes.

БА: Yes, of course.

КА: Can you try to tell again how the occupiers behaved and in what state Kherson residents generally were during the entire occupation?

БА: Kherson residents, they held on. We knew that our soldiers would free us. We knew this perfectly well, because they worked precisely, beautifully, without damaging the city, buildings. This fear, I'm telling you, it somehow calmed down, there was already such a state: well, if they come and take me, take me away, beat me or torture me, I can't get out of it in any way. We already thought that if this is destined to happen, if they take me away, then it will be. Here everything was only in the hands of the Almighty. We prayed that there wouldn't be such situations, that they wouldn't burst into apartments.

КА: So you hid your son in apartments, changed communications. And did you somehow protect yourself?

БА: I, honestly speaking, didn't protect myself. First, because there were very many of them in the city. We couldn't go to the center, although there was a possibility, but we avoided unnecessary wanderings around the city. As they say, the instinct of self-preservation didn't allow this. We went out in our neighborhood, somewhere gathered with neighbors, chatted, went for a walk around the stadium, where there are schools nearby. Or we went out to the nearest store, where our Ukrainian goods were still sold, to buy food, cigarettes, water there.

КА: And in general with food, with products, how was the situation?

БА: First, they opened their stores here, and the prices were very crazy. This is first. Second, patriotism also didn't give us the freedom to go there and buy something. We didn't even want it for free from there, that is, we didn't take humanitarian aid, supposedly which they distributed – our own goods, which were in closed stores, they just loaded into trucks and pretended that this was their humanitarian aid. We bought our own, what people brought from settlements: homemade milk, some meat, everything that was sold, let's say, on the spontaneous market.

КА: And were there many spontaneous markets in Kherson?

БА: No, I'll tell you, by neighborhoods there were. There are large markets, they worked, but they didn't work fully, but worked very little. Before they introduced the ruble, markets still worked, and when they already introduced rubles, many people refused to work for rubles. Personally I myself never held them in my hands. Everywhere we paid with our, Ukrainian currency. And then they started going around markets, telling sellers that they should work only with rubles. Someone's goods they took away, someone they threatened. For this reason somewhere markets started closing, someone started working. When they saw that it's pointless to tell residents to use rubles, they already calmed down, let this go a little bit. Such days we had, such moments we lived through.

КА: And didn't you try after your son's kidnapping to leave Kherson? Was this even possible? And what did you think about this?

БА: First, I had the possibility to leave initially. But I didn't want to. Why should I leave my homeland, my home? My children grew up here. I didn't want to go anywhere, I don't consider that I should have left. I wasn't even going to. I constantly tried for my son to leave, who also refused. He turned 18 at that moment, in March he was already 18, and this added worries to me. There were talks here that they're starting mobilization of local residents. This, of course, again brought fear to me, constant thoughts, worries. And so, I wasn't going to, I waited until the last, I knew that they would beat us back sooner or later. Because, before beating back Kherson, they beat back Kharkiv, already practically reached the border, and Kharkiv is a huge city (Note: the hero misspoke, the Armed Forces of Ukraine freed not Kharkiv, but the occupied part of Kharkiv Oblast). If they beat back such places, then Kherson, of course, they'll beat back for sure. We waited. I have [military] friends who stood under Kherson. While our communication worked, Vodafone, Kyivstar, Life, we maintained constant contact with them, somewhere somehow helped them. When they needed it, they asked, we tried to find out, help with something somehow. We knew clearly where they were and when they would already be entering, we already approximately imagined this. They didn't say that specifically "we'll enter in a week, in two." They supported us, constantly said that we're great, we're holding on, this means a lot to them, that the Kherson people are waiting for them.

КА: And wasn't it scary to correspond with Ukrainian soldiers?

БА: Of course, it was scary, it was very scary. After each correspondence, after each calls you automatically started sitting winding yourself up – what if they triangulate, what if somewhere they listened. They'll come, take away... This brought specific fear.

КА: But no one came for you, that is, all your conversations remained yours?

БА: Yes, because we connected VPNs, that is, not one VPN, but two-three VPNs simultaneously connected, so our location wouldn't be determined. We tried to make some workarounds in every way.

КА: And your son, who turned 18 in March, he never left Kherson, yes?

БА: No, he's now, at the current moment, here. Trains are starting to run for us, on the 23rd I'm sending him to Kyiv, so he can register at the military commissariat in Kyiv. There the state will already see where to send him, where he'll serve. He himself is eager for this, he was eager for this. As soon as he arrives in Kyiv, my relatives there will meet him, provide housing, and then he'll immediately go to the military commissariat, register. He has very many worthy friends. I raised my son the way my father raised me, according to our customs, Caucasian ones, with respect for everything. He's an athlete, has been doing sambo since childhood, went to competitions all over Ukraine. He tells me: "Dad, I'm your dzhigit [editor's note: a brave, skillful horseman; a term for a courageous young man in Caucasian cultures]." So he'll definitely go register, and in the future they'll already determine where he'll serve. In any case, he'll give his civic duty to the state.

КА: And when did he decide that he would go serve?

БА: So he never refused, he always talked about this. He studied here in a maritime college, maritime college, he studied to be a welder. Even at that moment he said: "As soon as I finish my studies, I'll enter higher education, raise my qualifications by correspondence, and immediately go to the army. Only after the army I'll already think about my future, how it will unfold."

КА: Really a dzhigit. Let's return a little to Kherson and the moment of de-occupation. You contacted familiar military people, as I understand, and approximately understood that de-occupation might happen very soon. Can you tell how the moment of de-occupation happened?

БА: Look, we read all these moments in the Telegram channel in Kherson, looked at photos, there were shots when our guys, for example, from 10 kilometers at night filmed our illuminated city and said: "Guys, we're already home, just a little bit left, just hold on, be patient, don't break, we're already nearby." Such news excited us strongly, even more strongly, we survived the dangerous, we knew that our soldiers wouldn't hit the city. We knew that when our guys enter, automatically evacuation of the city will be needed, help for the civilian population. This is all happening now, at the current moment. These things, they gave us huge hope. Our faith, it became even stronger, that today-tomorrow, that is, it's a matter of time, and we'll be freed from this yoke, freed from this aggression. And it happened like this: early in the morning, around 9 o'clock in the morning it was. I with my countryman, we just went out, I have a house, it turns out... Here I don't know, did you hear an explosion or not...

КА: Yes.

БА: Now explosions are audible.

КА: Oh God...

БА: Yes, I'm sitting in a car talking with you.

КА: And are you safe?

БА: You know, now to say that somewhere is safe, I won't lie.

КА: Yes, that's true.

БА: I'm a superstitious and God-believing person. I have such an opinion: if it's destined, I won't run anywhere, wherever I hide, wherever I sit, wherever I do anything. I have such a criterion. So, I have a house, it turns out, where I live, it's from two sides, 10 meters from the central street, road. We sat in the yard in the morning with my countryman, discussed, as usual, news, what was happening, talked, called each other, called neighboring villages, where we have friends, countrymen. We exchanged information, where what situation is. Here we just hear a crazy signal, that is, a continuous signal, people's screams. When we already went out to the road, we saw a pickup, a military pickup, where two soldiers sat in the back, they together held a Ukrainian flag. And they drove along this central street, we have a big circle here, they made two circles around the circle, people rejoiced, we had tears, joy, we shouted, applauded. And then I told my countryman, I decided that I would go after them.

КА: In your car?

БА: Yes. We got in my car, I drove onto the road, found them and went after them. At that moment, when we were driving after them, so you understand, there weren't such street shootouts, explosions in the city, this all happened from the morning, there was complete silence. And when I was driving after them, people were honking, in the city along central streets we were driving... (Explosion) People shouted, applauded, whistled, shouted "Glory to the Armed Forces of Ukraine!", "Glory to Ukraine!" I, driving right up to them, told my countryman, I say: "God grant that this isn't a provocation from the Russian side, because if this is a provocation, then consider that we don't exist, they'll just shoot us from the pickup." But I didn't fall behind. I said: "If you want, I'll stop, you can get out, but I'll go after them, however it may be. If this is a provocation, then so it will be, it's destined. If these are our guys, Armed Forces of Ukraine guys really, thank God, I'll get out, shake their hands, hug them." We arrived on Kirov Street, where the main police department of the city is located. We got out, and a soldier took the flag and went to hang it. At that moment I gave him my shoulder, lifted him on my shoulders, we hung the flag, tears in our eyes, joy, this is an indescribable feeling, you know... After we hung the flag, they got in the car, again along central streets, I went after them again. We drove onto the road that went to Beryslav district, this is a bypass road from the city, they turned onto the Beryslav road, I turned, honked, waved to each other, and I turned back into the city. When I drove back to my neighborhood, I look, ahead are driving four more of our cars, pickups with machine guns, our soldiers. Around screams, everyone around is honking... I don't know, this, this in general, this was such... How much joy there was in life: and children were born, and weddings, and this and that, close friends, some meetings – such joy hadn't been yet. Small and adult, and young, and old cried, everyone cried from joy, everyone jumped, everyone hugged each other.

КА: What happiness!

БА: The whole day on this day... Of course, they then drove to our administration building, hung a flag there. People gathered, flags everywhere, our troops arrived, started hugging everyone, telling everyone that "finally, we're happy." The whole day, this lasted a couple of days, emotions, of course, went off the charts at this moment.

КА: And do I understand correctly that the flag that they hung on the police department building, the military had it, yes, this was their flag?

БА: Yes, this was with our military who drove in. This is the first flag hung in the city.

КА: Wow!

БА: This is the very first flag that was hung in the city. Only then did people start tearing down Russian flags, banners, hanging our, Ukrainian flag everywhere, everyone walked with flags. This was the very first flag of the city. This is a huge honor for me, I thank the Almighty that he honored me with the honor to give my shoulder to the valiant warrior of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, so he could hang this beautiful flag.

КА: The best, yes. Did you talk with this military person to whom you gave your shoulder about something there? Did you manage to tell him something?

БА: No-no, we didn't talk, because this was all done in joy, constant haste, they couldn't stand and talk, and then somewhere on business. I didn't even stop them elementarily, I, of course, will find this person and definitely take a photo with him, I'll get acquainted with him, so that for the future, to be friends with him, exactly to be friends. Not even to be friends, but simply to be brothers.

КА: Yes, this is such a very powerful connection.

БА: I will definitely find him. You understand, now great history is being written, new history of Ukraine.

КА: Yes, that's true.

БА: This is new history of Ukraine for us, for our future children, for the future generation. So I will definitely find this person. Everything has its time, now they're doing their work, they're busy and I don't see the point in distracting them from this.

КА: How did you understand that this is the very first flag that appeared after de-occupation in Kherson?

БА: First, we drove around central streets, this is the regional council, you know, the administrative building where our flags hang exactly. We drove past them, hung this flag, these are the main places in the city where the first flags hang. And only after this our Armed Forces of Ukraine drove in, and they already hung a flag on the city administration, where our president Volodymyr Zelenskyy came, he spoke there.

КА: And what's happening now with this flag? Does it hang in the same place, or maybe the military took it as a memory, don't you know?

БА: No, all flags that are hung, they're all in place and hanging.

КА: I talk periodically with Kherson residents with whom it's possible to connect, some of them hid something, some Ukrainian symbolism, being in occupation. Did you have something like this? For example, some flag buried in the garden or something like that. Did you hide any Ukrainian symbols during occupation?

БА: I'll tell you that the Ukrainian people, they are very patriotic, and in every house, every resident has even a small flag of Ukraine, which everyone tried to hide in every way. Not because it was scary, because we all knew that we would be freed and, when we are freed, these flags will proudly be in our hands. At that moment, and even now, this is the most dear, close thing that warmed us. However we experienced all this, this flag, it calmed, it cheered us, it gave us a chance that "wait, the main thing is hold on and that's it, everything will be fine." Huge, huge thanks, huge gratitude, of course, to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, all the guys, all soldiers huge thanks for everything they do and did. And, of course, eternal memory to the guys who fell on the fields, gave their lives for every centimeter of their land. Eternal memory and glory.

КА: Yes, absolutely, glory to heroes! When you hung the flag, when you met the military, when you met the Armed Forces of Ukraine, can you try to remember your feelings in a bit more detail? What did you experience at the moment when you waited for your own, you stand and hang the first Ukrainian flag in Kherson after occupation?

БА: First, emotions went off the charts so much, it was simply some kind of explosion. Regardless of the person, tears of joy constantly flow. Adrenaline went off the charts so much that it shakes, that really, we finally waited, here they are, our city! We understood then already that that's it, the moment came when our guys finally beat us back and we are free, we are again in our country, on our land. Tears, they were continuous. Of course, this is also pride for me. I'm proud, I thank the Almighty that he exactly honored me with this honor. By and large, I didn't do anything heroic here, but...

КА: Well how?

БА: For me, as an Azerbaijani, this is pride, because once again we, Azerbaijanis, with some of our deeds, actions, we constantly want... Like brothers, and we want us to remain them, so that our countries in the future in any sphere would rise, come closer, whether it's politically, whether it's economically. I want them to continue to be friends so closely. Of course, huge thanks also to our president of Azerbaijan Ilham Heydar ogly Aliev for the fact that the brotherly republic didn't stay aside, helped in every way with humanitarian aid, medicines, fuel. Huge thanks to him for this. But I think that we still have everything ahead, of course. Soon all our lands will be beaten back, including your lands. And the Caucasus will return to its composition, to its lands, to its borders, and Ukraine. I think that our countries will come even closer. Huge thanks to Georgian guys, huge thanks to this "Legion" [editor's note: refers to the Georgian Legion fighting for Ukraine]. I'm a Caucasian, for me this is huge pride, I'm proud of them. The Caucasus once again proved and always proved that it will never take someone else's and won't give up its own, and we relate to brotherly countries, to neighbors, very kindly, in a brotherly way. We are always glad to see Ukrainian people and Georgian people at our homeland. We are glad to see any people. Huge thanks, huge gratitude to them that the Georgian people and Georgian guys, fighters too...

КА: Yes, also fight for freedom.

БА: Yes, in this war they fight, give their lives, those who died, eternal memory and glory.

КА: Eternal memory, yes. Can I return a little to the de-occupation of Kherson?

БА: Yes.

КА: Yes, I also wanted to ask. You said that you all had some symbols of Ukraine that helped somehow to believe more. What did you have? Can you remember what, maybe, you had such an object that warmed the soul?

БА: Even that same flag.

КА: And where was it for you?

БА: It lay at my home, I hid it in children's things. I hid it in the clothes of my little daughter, 5-year-old, with hope that, if even they enter, break down the door or I open the door and they enter, start searching the apartment, I thought that, maybe, their honor won't allow them to touch children's things.

КА: And at what moment did you hide the flag?

БА: We hid the flag when they already fully occupied the city, started going around apartments, somewhere breaking down doors, settling in. When collaborators started appearing. At that moment already we, knowing, hearing that such actions are happening, everyone already knew that it's necessary to hide. It's necessary to somehow make it so that even if they enter, at least so they don't find anything. So you understand, if they had even entered, no one had any idea what would happen to him next. They'll take him away or will force him to do something. No one guessed about this. Anything could be expected.

КА: And your flag that you hid in children's things, what's with it now? Did you take it out?

БА: Yes.

КА: Did you hang it somewhere? Oh, sorry, you disappeared. I heard nothing. I only heard "yes," and after that nothing.

БА: Here they're just shooting. This is when these explosions...

КА: Oh my God...

БА: Air defense works, then communication sometimes is lost. (communication break) I consider his behavior worthy, and I'm proud of this, so I gave it to him and told him to treasure it.

КА: Oh, and I didn't hear to whom you gave it, the connection was lost right then.

БА: To my younger son, who they took away.

КА: Oh! Ah, who is going to serve in the army?

БА: Yes-yes. I gave it to him and told him to treasure it. So that he passes this small flag in the future to his generation, to his children.

КА: And how did he react?

БА: Well, joy, of course. He had joy, huge joy, especially after he learned how I hid it. For him this is joy, for him it's also an honor that I entrusted him with this flag.

КА: A very beautiful story, a very Caucasian beautiful story. Boris, and can you tell me about what's happening now with explosions in the city? I hear how it constantly explodes in the background. I don't know if this is air defense or not, naturally, I can't determine. How is the situation with explosions in general?

БА: In the city now the situation is not critical, let's say. There are impacts in the city, there are in private sectors, there are in buildings, but our guys are working, and air defense works well, thank God. They do their job. At the current moment we, being in Kherson, here organized evacuation buses, people who go in transit can take people, departure to Kyiv, to Mykolaiv already exists. But nevertheless, we survived repression and didn't leave, and with our guys we don't want to leave at all. If it will be necessary and they tell Kherson residents that it's necessary to leave, evacuation is required, of course, we'll leave for Mykolaiv, for Odesa, so as not to interfere with their work and so they worry less about the local population. They have enough of their own concerns.

КА: And are there impacts around the city?

БА: On the outskirts of the city there are, yes, there are hits there. But, thank God, without casualties.

КА: God grant it stays that way.

БА: There are wounded, of course, from the civilian population, that is, this is from shrapnel, yes, impact of shrapnel. In the city itself so far, thank God, everything is fine. In the city there are no such concrete impacts. There are along the banks of the Dnipro.

КА: It's been more than 10 days since de-occupation, even a bit more. Can you try to tell me how life has changed? I understand that dramatically, but try to tell how Kherson, which returned home again, how it lives, how you feel this?

БА: What changed is that, first, city residents, the population, finally already calmed down, there's no longer such fear. The city came alive, people already move freely – in cars, on foot. A huge column goes daily of humanitarian aid: water, food, clothing – all this goes from Mykolaiv, comes here. The only problem of the city at the current moment – there's no electricity and water. We ourselves go for water to the nearest settlement, where pumps stand in courtyards, from there we fill up, bring in containers, distribute to neighbors, distribute water to those in need. There's simply no electricity and water. They say that it's already being repaired, a couple of days and they already promise to give electricity and water. If there will be electricity and water, the city's problem is practically eliminated.

КА: And emotionally?

БА: Emotionally? Well, even taking myself – such, you know, a shocked state, like intoxicated, can't believe it. The feeling is such that for a long time somewhere on the body one point hurts, constantly itches, continuously. And it suddenly stops hurting, you don't feel it, and you're already uncomfortable because you already got used to it itching for a long time. Now it doesn't itch and you're unaccustomed, you constantly think about it. Such a feeling that you can't believe it. This joy, these emotions, this adrenaline, it doesn't subside. Elementarily even just you sit in a car and drive around streets, around the city center, around outskirts, where you haven't been for a long time. During these 9 months there are little streets that were beautifully maintained, with flowers, little fences. You weren't there when there was aggression. And now you drive by, of course, this is an indescribable feeling, simply indescribable. And can I ask you a question?

КА: Yes, of course.

БА: Tell me, please, I sent you the complete video where we hung the flag. Will this video be shown somewhere?

КА: If you give me permission, then yes.

БА: Well why not?

КА: I actually very much wanted it, because this video spread quite widely. If you don't mind, I would, of course, very much like it, because well it's just tears...

БА: I'll tell you something else. The video that spread in that same Telegram, it was shown not in full volume, like this. There it was shown when I was already lowering our fighter from my shoulders, when we had already hung it. This video, it got only to you for the first time, from the press...

КА: Ah! Oh, how great! Thank you very much!

БА: It got to Kyiv, yesterday our correspondents from Azerbaijan called me, it got to them. What did I want to ask you? If you can, if you don't mind, I wanted to send a photo of my son...

КА: Of course. And yours, if possible. БА: Yes, I'll send you three photographs, where my wife and I are with our daughter, separately where my wife and I are, and my son separately.

КА: Yes, good. And also – what is your son's name?

БА: His name is Emelyanov Ruslan.

КА: Beautiful name.

БА: Emelyanov Ruslan Borisovich. Are you married?

КА: Yes.

БА: I wanted to tell you that after you see the photograph, you'll definitely want to meet him.

КА: Well, you see how it is, my heart is already taken.

БА: Simply an eagle, simply an eagle.

КА: I don't doubt that he's an eagle.

БА: I wish you happiness, strong love, a strong family, peaceful skies.

КА: And to you, most importantly, peaceful skies.

БА: And that you'll always be cheerful, and prosperity in your work, of course, huge prosperity.

КА: Thank you so much! I wish you peaceful skies, that Kherson rebuilds as quickly as possible, that all of Ukraine wins this war soon. This is, of course, the most important thing, and that everything is good for your family.

БА: Thank you enormously. And tell me, please, after the release...

КА: Of course, I'll immediately send you the link.

БА: You'll either send me a link, or drop it on WhatsApp, yes?

КА: Of course. As soon as the material comes out, I'll immediately send it to you. And tell me, please, Boris, how should I correctly designate you professionally, if you want to designate?

БА: Professionally? Well, what's the point of designating me, I'm an ordinary taxi driver.

КА: Good, good. Boris, maybe you want to tell me something that I didn't ask you about?

БА: What didn't you ask me about?

КА: Yes, about the war, about de-occupation, about occupation. Maybe there's something you wanted to say?

БА: No, about this I already told everything, it seems. I'll tell you one thing.

КА: So.

БА: God willing, when all this ends, my numbers, I've been using them for 13-15 years already. I want you to keep them, and, when all this ends, when Ukraine finally takes back all the lands and the war ends, I'm definitely waiting for you to visit.

КА: I'll definitely come to Kherson!

БА: I promise you that personally I will drive you everywhere.

КА: Then I have no chance not to come.

БА: I'll show you, I'll show you everything: Odesa, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Western Ukraine. I'll show you everything everywhere.

КА: Of course! I love Ukraine very much, I have sisters in Odesa.

БА: Only one condition, that you give me your word as a Caucasian to a Caucasian, that when all this ends, you'll definitely come.

КА: Of course! First thing I'll come! Really. I have sisters in Odesa, so there's no chance here.

БА: Well, that's absolutely wonderful. Thank you enormously for what you do!

КА: Boris, thank you enormously for the interview! Happiness to your family! And may everything be good!

БА: Yes, likewise. And at any moment I'm at your service.

КА: Thank you enormously! Also write how you are.

БА: If something will be of interest, a question or something else, you write already on WhatsApp. If there won't be internet, in any case it will appear, I'll answer you.

КА: Yes, good. Thank you enormously, thank you!

БА: That's it, goodbye.

КА: That's it, stay in touch.

БА: Now I'll drop you the photographs.

КА: Yes-yes, thank you enormously, yes, I'll be waiting! That's it, farewell!

БА: That's it, goodbye, until we're in touch.

КА: Stay in touch. All the best.

БА: Goodbye, farewell.